Cavaliers star unhappy with team’s lowball offer?

Jan 4, 2021; Orlando, Florida, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers guard Collin Sexton (2) passes the ball during pregame against the Orlando Magic at Amway Center. Mandatory Credit: Reinhold Matay-USA TODAY Sports

Getting low is great if you’re dancing to a Flo Rida song, but not so much if you’re free agent guard Collin Sexton fielding offers this summer.

Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com said this week on the “Wine and Gold Talk Podcast” that the Cleveland Cavaliers have made an offer to the restricted free agent Sexton in the range of three years and $40 million. Fedor notes that the proposal is “way less” than what Sexton initially wanted and that “it’s just not at the money that he believes he should get and his camp believes he deserves.”

Just over $13 million per year is probably indeed a lowball for Sexton, who is only 23 and was Cleveland’s runaway leading scorer with 24.3 points per game just two seasons ago. But the Cavs have already committed to Darius Garland as their guard of the future, and it makes sense that they might not want to tie up a significant portion of their remaining cap on Sexton. The ex-lottery pick was injured for almost all of last season as Cleveland went an unexpected 44-38. Even when healthy, Sexton is still not as efficient or as assist-producing as you would like from a player who is so heavy usage.

With NBA free agency now almost a month old, Sexton is the best remaining player on the market. But there is a big reason why he does not have much leverage right now to coax a better deal of out of the Cavs.